Sarfraz Ahmed Rejected Spot-Fixing Approach

National cricket team captain confirms he was the player approached with spot-fixing offer earlier this month

Captain Sarfraz Ahmed said on Wednesday that he was the Pakistani player who was approached by an alleged bookie during the one-day international series against Sri Lanka earlier this month.

The wicketkeeper-batsman reported the incident to the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) at the time. The news of a Pakistani player approached for fixing made headlines before the fourth match of a series the nominal hosts won 5-0.

The PCB confirmed on Saturday that an unnamed player was approached with an offer but promptly reported the matter to its anti-corruption unit. The PCB said the incident was conveyed to the ICC, whose anti-corruption unit interviewed the player.

Ahmed will lead his side in a three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka starting in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. “Obviously I did my job of informing, but I was not scared when I informed about it,” said Ahmed when he was asked if he feels under pressure because of the incident. “I did become scared after I saw myself on the television. There was so much talk about it on the television that I got scared. By the grace of Allah everything is getting normal. When you are going into a series you need to be normal and everything is going good so far.”

Pakistan cricket was hit by a fixing scandal during the second edition of the Pakistan Super League earlier this year that saw Pakistan openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif banned for two-and-a-half and five years respectively. The most infamous spot-fixing incident to hit Pakistani cricket came on the 2010 tour of England, when then-captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were all given prison sentences for conspiring to bowl deliberate no-balls in the fourth Test at Lord’s.